Rat Pest Control Services

Rats are one of the most common pests in the UK and unless you live in a coastal area, it is the larger brown rat that you are most likely to encounter.

The smaller, black rat, colloquially known as the ‘ship rat’ has smaller black bodies, hairless ears and a tail that is longer than their body. These rats are agile and often climb walls to gain entry to buildings. They scamper and so can be identified by toe rather than footprints in areas where they frequent.

The commoner brown rat has a blunt muzzle, a large body usually at least twenty three centimetres, to the base of the tail and walks flat footed, leaving a definite footprint pattern in areas they live and feed.

Why rats are considered pests

Rats only require a fresh water supply to survive, so they can live in inhospitable surroundings, such as sewers, under garden buildings, barns, stables and in hedgerows and grass banks in the countryside.

Rats living in dirty, unkempt habitats can become disease vectors. They are carriers of Weil’s disease, Salmonella, and some types of typhus, all of which are extremely dangerous to humans.

If they live in close proximity with livestock, like hens, they may intimidate them and steal their food. Rats also spoil foodstuffs and cause damage to the immediate area where they are living and feeding.

In domestic dwellings, they often gain access via damaged or poorly laid drains and sewers. In the house they travel under the floors and may gain access to upper floors and the loft space by utilising the cavity wall spaces. It is common for rats to eat insulation, wall boarding, wooden joists and floor boards and to strip the insulation off wiring, which may present a fire risk in the home. If you have rats in your house you may hear them running under the wooden floors or scratching in the walls or roof space.

Preventing rats in your home

Here are tips on how to prevent rats in your home:

Keep property in good repair; ensure drains are free flowing and undamaged.

Keep animal feeds and waste securely bagged and check regularly for signs of rat infestation by looking for footprints or cylindrical shaped droppings.

Keep gardens tidy and weed free. Block up holes in hedgerows and under garden buildings.

Rats are attracted to wild bird food and bread. Feed wild birds on a raised bird table as brown rats do not usually climb.

Rat pest control

Poison is the usual method of rat pest control, however sometimes traps are used. Rats are habitual feeders, making poison the best control method. It is important to remove poisoned rats from the feeding area and to check under the floor and in the loft, otherwise the dead animals will decay and emit odour. Follow the precautions on the poison packaging. If you have small children or pets in the house you must ensure they do not come into contact with or eat the poison.

For efficient, safe, rat pest control, use a professional pest removal expert like Speedy Pest Control.

Rodent Pest Control

The rat has plagued humans for thousands of years – the rat flea was responsible for the Black Death. There are two species of rat in Britain, Rattus norvegicus which is commonly known as the Brown Rat and Rattus rattus which has the common names Black Rat or Ship Rat.